CD Reviews

A pale shadow of the original

C. F. Delwiche | Washington, DC | 06/06/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Others have already made this point, but I will repeat it. The orginal Missa Luba was a work of great genius. This version is the processed-cheese equivalent. It is musically competent, but sterile and ultimately boring. I can only guess that those who rate it highly have never heard the original, which I have the privilege of owning on LP. If you can't find the original version it might be worth your money to buy this one, but only because it gives an echo of the brilliant original."

Utter disappointment

S. Van Westerop | UK | 08/05/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Gosh was I happy to have found the Missa Luba again! I heard it first in the 60s and fell in love with it - with the vibrance, the aliveness, the depth of feeling and colour of it. It brought back memories of the time when I heard 40 or so (black) workers in South Africa, singing on their way home from work, and that still is the most beautiful singing I've ever heard. And being a singer myself, I've heard a lot!

And then I listen to the examples: the whole thing has fallen flat on it's face. What a pale, watered-down, emotionless version this is! Like the others: I'll wait till Philips comes to its senses!"

Missa luba

Robert E. DeGroot | Concord, CA USA | 05/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a very old album that is now very scratchy. It is a beautifully done album, especially for those Catholics that love to hear the Mass in Latin. The B side of the album has a wonderful collection of traditional African music. I would love to find a newer copy of this, or a CD."

Grieving over the absence of the original

Mountain writer | 12/19/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'm so relieved to read all the reviews by folks who feel as I do about the comparison between the brilliant original by Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin and this rather tepid redo.

I used to play the Missa Luba every year on Christmas morning. (At other times too, but always on Christmas.) And I miss it terribly. I was all set to download these tracks, but after playing the clips I see they're in no way comparable. As other commenters have pointed out, they are a pale copy of the recording we all want to see on CD, which was unforgettably and indelibly beautiful."